faithMile

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neQ5Va5HiAg[/youtube]

Veni Emanuel – The Vatican

I ran across this beautiful version of O Come Emmanuel in Latin – performed by the Vatican choir. Not only is the music sublime, with echoes of the song’s Gregorian origins, but the scenery is amazing as well.

When I visited the Vatican, I went there to see Michelangelo’s pieta in person because it was the most beautiful statue I had ever seen in a book. Little did I know that the beauty of the pieta is dwarfed by the majesty of the building it sits in. Here, you see just a small part of the main chapel. In the video, you will notice that the people look incredibly small. To give you an idea of the scale of the Vatican, the statues you see ensconced in the walls are 6 feet tall. So is the circular golden rim of fire around the clock, as well as the letters and roman numerals rimming the base of the ceiling.

About.com has the lyrics to Veni Emanuel. It is even more beautiful in Latin.

Veni, veni Emmanuel!
Captivum solve Israel!
Qui gemit in exilio,
Privatus Dei Filio,
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, veni o oriens!
Solare nos adveniens,
Noctis depelle nebulas,
Dirasque noctis tenebras.
Gaude, gaude Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, veni Adonai!
Qui populo in Sinai
Legem dedisti vertice,
In Maiestate gloriae.
Gaude, gaude Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te Israel.